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On November 15, 1930 in Aurora, Illinois, Harry Barber drew a sketch of a new machine that was soon to become the Asphalt Paver. He asked s patent attorney named W.R. Chambers, to come from Chicago to see his new machine, and began the development of the modern asphalt; and now an entire industry has been developed from his invention. The machine featured mixing and placing in a single operation, and was exhibited for the first time at the 1931 Road Show in St. Louis. Barber realized that the mixing and placing operations needed to be separated. From there, the mixing section became the line of Barber Greene Asphalt Plants, and the placing section became the Barber Greene Paver Line. In 1933, Barber’s son Ashley, joined the company, and in this same year, the independent floating screed was developed. On April 10, 1936, the U.S. Patent Office issued the initial patent number 2,138,828 “Machine for and process of laying roads” and on December 6, 1938, this patent was granted. By 1940, the machine was upgraded to the 879-A model, and was the standard paver, globally, until the mid-1950’s. Barber-Greene also made a successful line of trenching machines, asphalt batch plants, asphalt drum mixing plants, and road recyclers, called, Dynaplanes. Barber-Greene was purchased by Astec Industries of Chattanooga, Tennessee (owner of the Roadtec line of Asphalt pavers, and manufacturer of their own product-line of asphalt plants.) on the first of January 1987. Then soon after, Astec discontinued the manufacture of the Barber-Greene design asphalt plant, and retained their own existing plant products instead. The Barber-Greene manufacturing plant and offices in Aurora, Illinois were closed. Barber-Greene was purchased by Caterpillar Inc. to form the basis of their asphalt paver line.